High-Street Chain Zara Named After Bearded Man

HIGH-STREET chain Zara was named after a bearded Greek man, according to the company's communications director, Jesus Echevarria.

It was after owner Amancio Ortega watched the 1969 film, Zorba the Greek, that he decided on the name Zorba for his first shop. It wasn't plain-sailing however: "Apparently there was a bar that was called the same, Zorba, like two blocks away, and the owner of the bar came and said: 'This is going to confuse things to have two Zorbas.'" Echevarria told the New York Times. "They had already made the moulds for the letters in the sign, so they just rearranged them to see what they could find. They found Zara."

Over three decades later, and Zara is one of the most recognisable brands on streets and in shopping centres all around the world, and has netted Ortega a healthy profit. Last week Bloomberg Markets named him the third richest person in the world with a net worth of $53.6 billion (£37.3 billion).